“Miss Weasley, what exactly would you call this?” Harrelson’s been really tough on me the past few days, but never outright mean. He’s always liked me in the past. I guess that stopped when I started screwing up in his class. I just haven’t been able to pay attention with Yvette constantly whispering in Terra's ear about me.

I think I skipped a few steps along the way because my potion is this hot pink color with steam pouring off the top. “I’m sorry, sir. I don’t know what happened.”

This only makes Harrelson glare at me more. “Stop trying to be cute. I know you are perfectly capable of brewing a simple Fire Protection potion. This cry for attention has got to stop.”

Cry for attention? “But sir!” I’ve never even acted up in his class. I was late last week, but that in itself is a pretty surprising occurrence.

“Detention the first night you get back with Professor Fleming.”

Detention? He’s never given me detention before! I’m one of his favorite students! And why would he go out of his way to send me to Fleming? Harrelson always takes detentions himself. I think he likes to have students organize the potions cabinet and clean up the dungeons from first year explosions. “But sir-”

He glares down at me. “This isn’t even close to what you were supposed to create. Evanesco!” My potion disappears and Harrelson scowls at me. “You’ll be receiving a failing grade for this class, Miss Weasley. You’re all dismissed.”

A few soft titters come from Yvette’s table as the rest of the class packs up to leave. The train leaves in the morning and I know I won’t get another chance to talk to Harrelson alone, so I take my time packing up. “Sir, what’s going on?”

When he realizes I’m the only one still here, he glares at me with a look of absolute venom in his eyes. “Is this some kind of game to you, Weasley? This job is the best thing that’s happened to me and I will not let your ridiculous antics take it away.”

He can’t be talking about me doing poorly this last week, loads of people are doing worse than me and he’s never gone off on them. I could stay and argue, but I can’t afford any more detentions. And I can’t stand the way he’s looking at me, like I’m scum.

I turn to leave and Yvette’s standing right outside the door waiting for me. “Aw, did poor little Vicky have a bad day?” I can’t believe I considered her my best friend for six years. It shows you what kind of judgment I have.

“Leave me alone.” I try to head back to Teddy’s room, but Yvette just follows along behind me. I wish I knew what she had planned. A simple rumor wouldn’t be enough to bury me forever and she doesn’t ever want me to be forgiven.

“Did your boyfriend break up with you? Poor little Vicky. She has such a sad life, all the beauty in the world isn’t enough for her.”

“Well at least I don’t go after my friend’s sloppy seconds.” I hiss back. She looks surprised, as though she didn’t expect me to fight back. “You know what Michael told me when I broke up with him? He said he’d stop shagging you, that he’d rather be with me. If I wanted, I could take him back in a heartbeat.” I sneer at Yvette and leave her gaping after me in the corridor.

It felt good to fight back for once.

~*~

“I love Christmas,” Teddy remarks as we get off the train. “Everyone’s happy and together. It just seems like the best time of the year.” Of course Teddy would think that. He just loves spending the holidays with Uncle Harry and his family. He doesn’t understand why I’m not as big a fan of Christmas as he is. I’m glad to be out of Hogwarts, but not so thrilled to be going home. Mum and Dad haven’t exactly been pleased with me the past few years.

“Do you see my parents or Louis or Dom anywhere?” Teddy shakes his head and that’s when I remember how confused I’m supposed to be about Dom. She hasn’t even tried to talk to me since the drama with Yvette. She’s always been envious of my popularity, but I’m still her sister. She’s got to have a bit of loyalty.

Teddy nudges my arm. “I can see Dom’s hair over there.” He points to the barrier and sure enough I see a flash of bright red hair go through the barrier. Dom hates that I was the only one to inherit Mum’s veela genes. She and Louis both have Weasley red hair. I was jealous of her as a kid. She seemed to fit into our extended family so much better than me. Even Teddy used to turn his hair bright red whenever the family got together. “You coming?”

He doesn’t wait for my answer, just heads off towards the barrier. I’ve got no choice but to follow. When I get through I think for a moment that I’ve lost him, but then I hear him greeting my parents. “Vic’s right behind me.”

I finally spot my parents with Dom and Louis beside them. “Mum, Dad,” I say primly, refusing to look either of them in the eye. They’ve spent the last six months expressing their disappointment in my awful OWL scores and hinting that I should spend less time with guys and more on my studies.

“No, I’m just apparating over to my grandmother’s. I’m not heading to Harry’s until tomorrow.” My father nods in approval.

“We’ll be seeing you soon, then.” Teddy nods, then goes back through the barrier to apparate away. Mum and Dad begin walking out with Louis and Dom and I follow. I try to talk to her, but whenever I open my mouth she sends me a nasty look.

Finally I hiss at her, “What’s your problem?” She doesn’t respond except to glare back. I can’t think of what I might have done to make her so angry, but it’ll be something so insignificant no one besides Dom would even notice. She’s a little Yvette in the making, practically.

“Are you studying hard for your exams this year, Victoire?” Dad poses this question in a light tone, but he’s always serious about school. He just can’t stand to think that his oldest daughter won’t be following in his footsteps and be Head Girl.

“Yeah, I’m studying my arse off.”

My mother turns around to give me a stern look. “Language, Victoire!” She hates it when I curse.

“Sorry, Mum.” We drive home in silence only broken by the occasional question to me or Dom about Hogwarts and our lives. I can’t imagine what it would be like to live at home and deal with these kinds of questions every day. It gives me a new respect for all those muggle kids that do it.

The second we get home I hide out in my room. I’d lock the door, but I don’t turn seventeen until May and doing it the muggle way is pointless. Dom learned how to pick locks from Uncle George when she was younger. I think about starting a letter to Teddy, but I’ll be seeing him in a few days and writing would just seem pathetic.

So instead of doing anything at all I just stare at the ceiling and wait for the holidays to be over.

A/N: My teachers are trying to kill me, so I'm still working on chapter five. Hopefully I can get seven up before November because I'll be taking a break for NaNoWriMo. I apologize in advance. So yeah. I've really got nothing to say so I might as well ramble. Make a little small talk. How are you, dear reader(s)? How's life? Still doing the breathing thing? Good, that's good. Me too.

I'm crazy. Off to finish chappie 5! (if all goes well)

Oh, and I apologize for this being so short. The next one will be longer.